Aristotelian Rhetoric and Arabic Balāghah in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language: A Conceptual Comparative Study
Abstract views: 22
,
pdf downloads: 14
Abstract
This study examines the conceptual relationship between Aristotelian rhetoric and Arabic balāghah within the context of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL), with a particular focus on speaking skills (maharah al-kalām). Using a conceptual comparative approach, the study analyzes primary rhetorical texts and relevant secondary literature to identify differences in epistemological orientation, rhetorical mechanisms, and pedagogical implications. The findings reveal that Aristotelian rhetoric is grounded in rational–pragmatic persuasion, positioning language as an instrument to influence audiences, whereas Arabic balāghah is oriented toward the appropriateness of meaning and context, viewing language as a system of contextualized meaning. These differences result in distinct approaches to speech design, rhetorical evaluation, and assessment in TAFL. The study argues that uncritical adoption of Aristotelian rhetorical frameworks risks neglecting the language-specific and contextual nature of Arabic rhetoric. Consequently, it proposes an integrative pedagogical perspective that combines the structural strengths of Aristotelian rhetoric with the linguistic–pragmatic foundations of Arabic balāghah to enhance the teaching of Arabic speaking skills.
Downloads
References
Abdurrahman, Ja’far Rais, and M. Fauzan Zenrif. “The Relationship between Philosophy, Balāghah, and the Qur’an: A Study of Manāhij Tajdīd fī an-Naḥw wa al-Balāghah wa at-Tafsīr wa al-Adab by Amin Al-Khuli.” Kitabina: Jurnal Bahasa & Sastra Arab 4, no. 2 (December 2023): 107–15. https://doi.org/10.19109/kitabina.v4i02.20550.
Abidah, Sa’idatul, and Suci Ramadhanti Febriani. “Application of Clustering Method in Arabic Learning to Improve Speaking Skills for High School Levels.” Tanwir Arabiyyah: Arabic as a Foreign Language Journal 2, no. 2 (December 2022): 109–22. https://doi.org/10.31869/aflj.v2i2.3456.
Aflisia, Noza, Hendrianto, and Kasmantoni. “Teaching Balāghah for the Purpose of Appreciation of Al-Qur’an Language.” Lughawiyyat: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Arab 4, no. 2 (June 2022): 156–72. https://doi.org/10.38073/lughawiyyat.v4i2.537.
Aldawood, Zainab, Linda Hand, and Elaine Ballard. “Language Learning Environments for Arabic-Speaking Children in New Zealand: Family Demographics and Children’s Arabic Language Exposure.” Speech, Language and Hearing 26, no. 4 (October 2023): 266–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2023.2212537.
Azis, Moch Cecep Abdul. “Balāghah Analysis of the Tashbīh Sentences in the Book of Al-Lubāb al-Ḥadīth.” Takwil: Journal of Qur’an and Hadith Studies 3, no. 1 (June 2024): 87–103. https://doi.org/10.32939/twl.v3i1.3491.
Clark, Carol Lea. “Aristotle and Averroes: The Influences of Aristotle’s Arabic Commentator upon Western European and Arabic Rhetoric.” Review of Communication 7, no. 4 (October 2007): 369–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/15358590701596955.
Emirza, Ferizka, and Mohamad Sahril. “An Investigation of English Speaking Skills Performance of Introvert Students in Speaking Class.” English Journal 15, no. 1 (March 2021): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.32832/english.v15i1.4558.
Fairclough, Norman. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman, 1995.
Kashmiri, Hayat Ahmad. “Communication Challenges: Saudi EFL Speaking Skills and Strategies to Overcome Speaking Difficulties.” Arab World English Journal, no. 267 (December 2020): 1–61. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.267.
Khoerun Nisa, Salma, Rinaldi Supriadi, and Tatang. “Rhetorical Structures of Conclusion Sections in Arabic Scholarly Articles for Indonesian and Arabic Speakers.” Alibbaa’: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab 6, no. 2 (August 2025): 373–92. https://doi.org/10.19105/ajpba.v6i2.21432.
Koselleck, Reinhart. The Practice of Conceptual History: Timing History, Spacing Concepts. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002.
Mahmudah, Menik, Lailil Maghfiroh, Nur Hanifansyah, and Sultan Abdus Syakur. “Enhancing Arabic Rhetoric Education through Mind Mapping: A Focus on Bayān and Badīʿ.” Lughawiyyat: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Arab 8, no. 1 (April 2025): 32–55. https://doi.org/10.38073/lughawiyyat.v8i1.2208.
Musalwa, Rahmat Satria Dinata, Syafrimen Syafril, Ahmad Basyori, Vanadya Amelia, Putri Amelia, and Salah Benrabah. “The Arabic Linguistic Landscape of Islamic Universities: Patterns, Strategies, and Pedagogical Practices in West Sumatra.” Alibbaa’: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab 6, no. 2 (July 2025): 243–63. https://doi.org/10.19105/ajpba.v6i2.19601.
Musyafa’ah, Nurul. “Assignment-Based Balāghah Learning Module Application to Increase Literary Appreciation.” Journal of Social Science 2, no. 6 (November 2021): 816–26. https://doi.org/10.46799/jss.v2i6.250.
Rahmi, Eisya Nautika, Mia Nurmala, Yayan Nurbayan, Syukran Syukran, and Ananda Muhammad Faza. “A Phenomenological Study of Arabic Language Environment to Improve Students’ Speaking Skills at Modern Islamic Boarding School.” Mantiqu Tayr: Journal of Arabic Language 4, no. 1 (January 2024): 232–56. https://doi.org/10.25217/mantiqutayr.v4i1.4085.
Richards, Jack C. Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667220.
Saleh, Mohammad, Zamri Arifin, and Lily Hanefarezan. “Language Games in Learning Arabic Rhetoric for Non-Arab Speakers / Al-Alʿāb al-Lughawiyyah fī Taʿallum al-Balāghah al-ʿArabiyyah li al-Nāṭiqīn bi Ghayr al-ʿArabiyyah.” Ijaz Arabi Journal of Arabic Learning 5, no. 3 (September 2022). https://doi.org/10.18860/ijazarabi.v5i3.16211.
Sharma, Lok Raj. “Exploring the Landscape of Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Speaking Skills.” International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies 4, no. 3 (May 2024): 74–78. https://doi.org/10.62225/2583049X.2024.4.3.2745.
Solmsen, Friedrich. “The Aristotelian Tradition in Ancient Rhetoric.” In Landmark Essays, 215–43. London: Routledge, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003059240-15.
Swedberg, Richard. The Art of Social Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Vagelpohl, Uwe. “Reading and Commenting on Aristotle’s Rhetoric in Arabic.” In Reading the Past across Space and Time, 165–84. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55885-5_9.
Wahab, Wahab, Yuliana Yuliana, Almu Padol, Mustar Mustar, and Ali Musa Lubis. “The Language Division’s Efforts in Community-Based Arabic Speaking Skills Training.” Ijaz Arabi Journal of Arabic Learning 8, no. 3 (September 2025). https://doi.org/10.18860/ijazarabi.v8i3.32555.
Yakin, Ainul, and Seif Robeth Al-Haq. “Taḥlīl al-Asālīb al-Lughawiyyah li Aʿḍāʾ Firqah al-Munāẓarah al-ʿIlmiyyah bi Tarbiyat al-Muʿallimīn al-Islāmiyyah fī Musābaqat al-Munāẓarah al-ʿIlmiyyah.” Alibbaa’: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab 4, no. 2 (July 2023): 249–74. https://doi.org/10.19105/ajpba.v4i2.8874.
Yazghi Ezzaher, Lahcen el. “The Arabic Commentary Tradition on Aristotle’s Rhetoric.” In Arabic, Persian, and Turkic Poetics, 52–62. London: British Academy, 2024. https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197267790.003.0003.
Zahrawi, Rasha T. al, Syed Nurulakla Syed Abdullah, Tayeb Brahimi, Muhammad Alif Redzuan Abdullah, and Nik Farhan Mustapha. “Bibliometric Analysis of Arabic Rhetoric in the Translation and Transcreation of Literary Texts.” Cogent Arts & Humanities 11, no. 1 (December 2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2428483.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Alibbaa': Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab have CC-BY-SA or an equivalent license as the optimal license for the publication, distribution, use, and reuse of scholarly work.
In developing strategy and setting priorities, Alibbaa': Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab recognize that free access is better than priced access, libre access is better than free access, and libre under CC-BY-SA or the equivalent is better than libre under more restrictive open licenses. We should achieve what we can when we can. We should not delay achieving free in order to achieve libre, and we should not stop with free when we can achieve libre.
Alibbaa': Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
